Prostate Cancer Can Recur After Surgery

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December 19, 2000|By Washington Post

The study and results:

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic reviewed the records of nearly 2,800 men who were diagnosed with cancer that was confined to the prostate and had surgery to remove the prostate between 1987 and 1993. The study was intended to see how great is the risk that some of the cancer escaped and could reappear suddenly many years after the operation.

A total of 819 men (about 29 percent) had the cancer recur and 160 of those (about 6 percent of the total) had it recur after five years. Cancer progression was noted through a blood test for prostate-specific antigen and physical exams.

The researchers found that the risk of cancer showing up again was greatest during the first two years after surgery but that other patients still had a low but constant risk. They suggested that the common assumption about patients who live cancer-free for five years may not apply to prostate cancer. And they advised that patients who had prostate surgery get follow-up screening for the rest of their lives so that if cancer does appear, medical interventions can be made.

What's new: This is the first large study using patients who had prostate-specific antigen tests before surgery to assess the long-term risks of recurrence of prostate cancer.

Caveats: The study included only patients who did not get any additional treatment within 90 days of surgery or who did not receive hormonal therapy.

Bottom line: Men who have surgery to remove a cancer confined to the prostate should continue to have prostate-specific antigen screenings and physical exams because they have a small risk of developing cancer more than five years later.

Find this study: July issue of the Journal of Urology; abstract online at www.jurology.com